


It's Never Too Late

by stc1723



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: Drama & Romance, Relationship(s), Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2020-04-03
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:21:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23436082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stc1723/pseuds/stc1723
Summary: Ever since Christen Press joined the USWNT in 2013, Tobin Heath has always had eyes for her. Now in 2019, after the World Cup, Tobin wants to make her feelings known. Will she get a chance? Or will Christen Press already have fallen for someone else?
Relationships: Tobin Heath/Christen Press
Comments: 31
Kudos: 70





	1. Mixed Feelings

**Author's Note:**

> idkk what i'm doing tbh. I'm just bored bc of quarantine. I hope u enjoy this alottt. This is my first time ever doing something like this

**2019 After The World Cup in NYC**

The USWNT had just won their 4th World Cup. They became the first team to win it back to back in the history of Women's soccer. The team heads down to a local bar to celebrate after doing their parade for almost the entire day. 

They sit down all together in one long table. Kelley is the first to start the conversation, "Wow, has this been an experience of a lifetime."

Alex looks at her and responds, "Hell yeah it has. And there's no better group of people I'd rather celebrate it with then with my 22 best friends!"

Everyone looks around at one another. 

Christen and Tobin, especially, spend along time looking into each others eyes. 

Tobin is glad she's able to celebrate another World Cup win, but she's even happier she got to experience it with Christen being a consistent part of the lineup. 

Christen put her hand on Tobin's and looked into her eyes, "Thank you," she says. Christen's so grateful for their friendship and for Tobin always being there when she needed her. This year was very hectic for her, and having someone as stable as Tobin really helped her.

Tobin looks up, confused, and asks, "Why?"

Christen just smiles and answers, "Because you're just ugh idk." She's starting to get flustered and feels herself blush. She just can't seem to ever get Tobin out of her mind. She's always thinking about the amazing things Tobin does for her. 

"Haha, very specific Chris, but I'll take it. You're welcome and please know I'm always here for you." Tobin answers Christen, knowing everything that Christen has gone through has brought her into an interesting state of mind.

"Let's get the party started!!" Christen looks over and sees Emily and Samantha bringing drinks to their table, yelling, trying to get everyone's spirits up. 

"We won the fucking World Cup and y'all are just sitting around and talking. Let's go crazy. It's our world now ladies!" Kelley joins in, trying to pump everyone up.

"How about we play some party games?" Everyone looks at Ashlyn like she's out of her mind. 

"We aren't six anymore Ashlyn. I'm sorry to break it to ya." Alex responds while laughing. 

"No shit, Sherlock. I'm talking about extreme party games. Like spin the bottle or truth or dare." Ashlyn answers now with Rose supporting her. 

"I'm down for that you know. What you think Mal?" Whenever Mal wants to do something, the team will do it.

"That seems fun. So what do we start with?" Mal agrees.

"Let's vote, like a democracy. Because I know y'all will hate what I want. Ok. So spin the bottle or truth or dare?" Kelley asks the team. 

To no ones surprise, Truth or dare wins out with only 7 votes going to spin the bottle.

"So who starts?" asks Julie. 

As the night goes on, the team starts to drink a lot more and expose more of their secrets. 

Christen is starting to feel the heat, she normally doesn't drink alot, but tonight, it was exception. They had just won the World Cup for crying out loud. She excuses herself from the table and starts to go get some fresh air. 

As she starts to head outside, she walks past a group of men, who had surely been drinking all night long. 

One of the guys calls for her attention, "If it isn't the World Champion, and finest player on the National Team, Christen Press." She puts her head down and just smiles, knowing that she doesn't want anything to do with them. She just wants to go outside before she does something stupid. 

As she walks away, one of the guys calls after her, "Christen don't go, come on, entertain us please. Baby girl, come on, I know you want to."

Before he could stop, one of the guys at the table with him stands up and says, "Bro, will you shut the fuck up. You have no right talking to a world fucking champion like that. She clearly needs air and she doesn't know what she's doing right now. So leave her alone alright." 

Everyone at the table is shocked and people around the bar are starting to look at where all the commotion is coming from. He grabs Christen by the arm and says "I'm really sorry about that. I'll call a Taxi for you and you can be on your way home. Alright."

She looks up at him and nods "Yeah, that's fine. Thank you." 

As he's walking her outside, she begins to notice how beautiful his honey colored eyes look. In this moment she thinks he's a dream. She's too busy staring into his eyes, that she doesn't even realize he was asking her a question. 

"Would you like me to go with you to make sure you make it home safe?" he asks her, praying she'll say yes, so he can spend more time with this green eyes beauty. She just looks at him. Finally coming back to earth and saying, "huh, sorry?"

He gives her a soft smile and says, "Would you like me to come with you to .." before he could even finish, she says "Yes, please!"

He calls a Taxi and opens the door for her to get inside. As soon as the door closes, but before the driver takes off, he tells the driver where to go and immediately looks into those precious green eyes and pulls her in for a kiss. She doesn't hesitate, she's not thinking straight, but with his hands in her hair, all she can think about is how this gorgeous man ended up in her life. She breaks away after a few minutes and looks him into his eyes saying, out of breath, "Hey, I'm Christen." He giggles after she says that "I normally say my name before the first kiss, but this time I don't know what happened" He smiles at her, she looks beautiful with her hair a little messed up and her green eyes a little darker than normal. 

"It's fine. I enjoyed it. My name is Carter Williams. I want to say I'm sorry again for how those guys acted. You don't deserve to be treated like that. Nobody does, I'm really sorry someone like you should've gone through that." he says. 

She blushes, "You're nothing like that. You're an angel. You're perfect. Thank you for everything and for.." before she could finish. He cut her off with a kiss and they kept that up until they got to her hotel. 

Carter helps her out of the Taxi, "Well here we are Christen. I hope you had a fun ride, I'm sure I did. I hope you have a great night and again I'm sorry for my friends." 

Christen doesn't want him to go. She doesn't know what she wants, but she knows she doesn't want to be alone. She loved the way his lips felt on hers. It had been a while since anything like that had happened to her. She had wanted it, but she didn't want to end a friendship that for 6 years had been her rock. 

She looked up at him, seeing his beautiful eyes and perfect jaw, and decided that he can't leave her, atleast not yet. "Do you want to come up with me?" She asks, in a very shy tone. 

Carter smiles, a big smile, she wishes she could see all the time, and answers, "I'd love to Christen." She grabs him by the arm and leads him to her room. They go up the elevator without making a sound, knowing what's going to happen the second they get to the room. 

The second he closes the door to her room, he pushes her to the wall and begins to make out with her. He knows what to do. He picks her up from her thighs and carries her to the bed. He puts her down and starts to unbutton her dress shirt. She can't take her lips off of his and when he does, she's asking for them back. He starts to kiss her neck and she lets him know when he's hit the right spot. He's going to leave a mark and she knows it by how rough he's kissing her. But she likes it like that. She can feel herself getting turned on. She's so glad she invited him over. He's so perfect for her, yet they've just met. He knows her so well, he knows what to do with her. He knows how to make her feel alive. 

*

The next morning she wakes up when she hears the sound of the door knock. 

Carter calls her, "Hey, Christen, it's just me. Stay in bed alright. I ordered some breakfast for you from room service."

She smiles at the sound of his voice. 

She gets out of bed to go get some food, but she can hardly walk. She remembers everything that happened the night before and how pleased she was by the outcome. She hardly got any sleep but it didn't matter. 

"Thank you, you didn't have to do this" she tells Carter when he gets her breakfast. 

"Anything for you, beautiful" 

She's looking at his perfect abs and how her hands were all over them the night before. She doesn't know what got into her. It's been almost 12 hours since she's had her last drink and she's starting to realize 100% of the things that just occurred. 

After breakfast she gets a text from Julie 

**JJ - Chris!! Where are you? We need to be here for a photoshoot!**

**Christen - Sorry, I'm at my hotel room. Is everyone there?**

**JJ - Yes! It starts in 5 mins. Hurry TF Up!**

Christen looks at the clock. 'Shit' she thinks, I'm going to be late. 

"Carter, I have to go. I forgot I had a photoshoot. I'm sorry to rush out on you like this. Thank you again for breakfast and everything." she yells at Carter while she's getting all dressed up. 

"You look fine in your uniform" he says, while looking her up and down. He pulls her in for one last kiss and watches as she runs out the door and into a Taxi. 

*

She finally makes it to the photoshoot, 10 minutes late. 

"Chris, where were you girl?! Stanford girls are never late you know!" Kelley looks at Christen. 

"Sorry, I was late. I got caught up."

"Chris, OMG, come here" Crystal calls her over. 

"Yeah, what's up?" Christen answers while rubbing her eyes.

"Who left these marks on you?" Crystal whispers. 

OMG she thinks. Did Carter really leave those on me? And can people see them? 

"Uh, nothing happened. Help me cover them pleasee Crystal, I'm begging you!" 

When they come out of the restroom, after Crystal tried her best to cover up her marks and after Christen told her the entire story, they line up to take pictures. 

Christen has noticed that Tobin has been very distant from her today. Normally, Tobin is the first one who comes and says hello, but today she didn't even seem to notice Christen was here. 

Christen goes over to talk to Tobin, "Hey Tobs!" 

"Hey" Tobin says quietly

"What's wrong?

"Nothing", Tobin answers, not looking up once, keeping her eyes on the ground. 

"Oh", Christen says, sounding worried. 

Something was going on with Tobin. Tobin loved Christen and she would never admit it. They both deep down knew they loved one another. But what Christen didn't know was that Tobin saw Christen excuse herself from the table last night. 

She saw Christen get confronted by those guys.

She saw Carter eyeing Christen the entire time.

She saw Carter take Christen by the arm and call a Taxi for her. 

She saw Carter and Christen get into the taxi together.

And she saw Carter kiss Christen Press, her Christen Press. 


	2. Realizations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christen starts to fully understand her decision. Tobin doesn't know what to do or how to react.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tysmm for the reception you all gave me in the first chapter. I'm glad you're enjoying it. pls stay safe and inside during these rlly tough times. Thank you again!

During the photoshoot, Tobin couldn't stop thinking about Christen and what she had seen. Did Christen love this guy? Was he gonna take Christen away from her? She couldn't get it off of her mind. She found it so hard to smile for the pictures, she couldn't be happy knowing this. She needed closure, but she didn't want to make it seem like she was stalking Christen. She cared about this friendship, yeah she wanted more, but she wanted Christen to be happy. So aslong as Christen was happy, I guess she should be to.

"Harry!! What's wrong? You look all depressed, you barely even smiled for the pictures." Allie runs towards Tobin after the photographer let them go. 

Tobin turns to see Allie running at her and says, "Look, it's nothing alright. Just thinking about things." She looks over at Christen and sees her laughing and talking with Kelley, Alex, Lindsey and Mal.

Allie notices her looking Christen's direction, "You and Christen haven't spoken a lot today. Is everything good?"

"Yeah, I mean everything's fine." Tobin can't think up a good enough lie.

"Tobin, something's wrong OMG. Just tell me ok. You're never this sad. Please tell me what's going on. Come on, I'll take you to get coffee." 

Allie and Tobin walk out and go to the closest coffee shop. Once they get their coffee, they begin to discuss what's going on in Tobin's head. 

"It's just that I saw her go into a Taxi last night with someone else and I saw her kiss him in the car. I know that I shouldn't be mad about her having a love life, but I don't want her heart to get broken again. She's gone through so much this year and if somebody else were to mess her up, I wouldn't want her to have to feel that pain again." Tobin looks up at Allie to make sure she was still paying attention. Sure, this was kind of true, but the main reason was because she loved Christen and she wouldn't want to see her with anybody else, but herself. 

"Hmm, well that's Christen's choice you know. If she wants to get herself into that, that's up to her. You shouldn't get mad about something like that. You could always talk to her and see what really happened, but maybe you're overthinking things. She probably drank alot and wasn't herself." Allie tries to help Tobin in the best way she can, she knows Tobin is hiding something, but she doesn't want to make her come out and say it.

"I want her to be happy and all. I don't want this guy to come in and break her heart. And if she was drinking, then he just took advantage of her and didn't even care about what she wanted. That fucked up if he did that to her. I don't want her to ever be sad and I take it upon myself to ensure that. She told me yesterday she's grateful for me, yet I wasn't able to stop her from getting her into that." Tobin knows she could've ran out and stopped her, but how would Christen have taken that. Would it had made her seem as over protective?

"Well, maybe that's what she wanted Tobin. Maybe she wanted to go with him." Allie wants to change the conversation, she knows she isn't going to go anywhere with this topic unless Tobin confesses. "So, uh, Tobin, are you excited to go back to Portland?"

*

Back in the lil studio, Christen is still talking with Kelley, Alex, Lindsey, Mal and now Crystal has joined their conversation. 

"OMG Christen, turn around." Kelley looks really surprised when she sees what Crystal "attempted" to cover up.

Christen looks at Crystal like omfg she can't know what happened. If she does, the entire team is gonna know too. 

"Damnnn, Christen's been getting some!!" Lindsey says while dying of laughter.

"No, it's, uh, nothing. I fell and I hit myself there by accident. Look, it's nothing big. Let's just move on!?" Christen is so bad at lying.

"Uh, huh, so you fell and hit yourself on the side of your neck and it looks like that? And then you proceeded to try to cover it up." Alex isn't believing any of her lies.

"Yeah, I'm so stupid huh. It really hurt when I fell though, I don't recommend it." Christen is still with her, awful, lie. 

"Why don't we take you to the doctor to get checked up then?" Kelley tries to be smart.

"OMG fine, ok. I slept with this one guy, but it was nothing alright. I was drunk and he took me to my hotel and yeah ok. That's it. Please don't ask anymore questions about it." Christen finally gives in.

"Well, to be honest, we didn't really ask any questions about it. We just asked if you wanted us to take you to the doctor." Mal adds a comment that Christen has no response for she just looks down. 

"So what happened Chris? Fill us in alright, we live boring lives here. Just winning world cups, not getting it every night." Alex tries to get some more information. 

Christen finally decides to tell the story, "So he was just dreamy looking and he took me into the Taxi and my dumbass let him and then he kissed me and I liked it I guess. I don't remember to be honest. It was all so insignificant. Then my drunk ass invited him to come up to my room and yeah, that's when "I fell". It all meant nothing though ok, I didn't even get his number or anything. I don't have feelings, it was just a one night thing and never again."

Kelley is the first one to break the silence after, "Well, I'm glad you're having fun Chris." 

"Yeah, it was nothing" Christen defends herself. "Well, can someone help me cover this up before more people find out?" Christen asks

They all nod and head off into the restroom, helping Christen cover it up much better than Crystal's 1 minute attempt. 

*

When they're done, Christen can't get it out of her mind. Why would she be so stupid and let this guy do stuff to her? She wasn't even really into him. The only thing she's thinking about now is Tobin. Why did Tobin just brush her off like that? It hurts her because Tobin has been her best friend and she loves Tobin so much. She doesn't know where should would be without Tobin. She decides to text Tobin and finally figure out what's wrong.

**Christen - Hey, Tobin, can you talk in a little?**

**Tobs <3 - Uh, sure, what's up?**

**Christen - Well, can we meet up somewhere?**

**Tobs <3 - Sure, just meet me at the Deli. Let's get some food**

**Christen - See you there! <3**

Tobin doesn't know what to expect. She's happy Christen is going to talk with her, but she doesn't know how or even if she should bring up that guy. She doesn't know how Christen will react if she does. She decides to let Christen do the talking.

Christen gets to the Deli in 5 minutes and Tobin is already waiting. They order the food and find a place to sit. 

Tobin can't stop looking into her green eyes, she can't believe she's gone almost half a day ignoring them. She doesn't know why she's doing it and if it's even worth it. 

"Hey," Christen says trying to break the silence. 

"Hi," Tobin says in response, not knowing what else to say.

They sit there for 5 minutes, just eating their food. Both not knowing how to start the conversation or even knowing what to say. 

"So, one more week until we go back with our clubs, huh?" Christen is trying her hardest. 

"Yeah, that's crazy. It's been a good run with this team." Tobin trying not to be as dry as possible. 

"Yeah" Christen doesn't know what to say anymore. There conversations normally came off so easily. They both always knew what to say and they could keep their conversations going for hours. This time something was different. 

After 10 more minutes of silence, Tobin finally gets her question off of her chest, "So, do you love him?"

Christen is taken aback by this question, "Huh, what do you mean, who?"

"The guy, Chris, the guy. Do you love him?" Tobin wants to know. 

"No, Tobin, it's not like that. I don't love him. I don't feel anything for him at all. It just happened." Christen smiles, knowing that that's what been bothering Tobin all day. 

"Are you sure? Because I don't want any guy coming into your life and hurting you ok. I don't want that to happen to you."

Christen blushes, knowing that Tobin cares for her so much, and she's never had someone who cared for her this much, someone who looks our for her like Tobin does. She begins to realize that Tobin cares for her as more than just a friend, but she doesn't piece anything together. 

"No, I promise Tobin, it was nothing. I don't know what I was thinking. I just got caught up in everything" she grabs Tobin's hand, "Thank you for looking out for me, I promise it wasn't anything." 

Tobin feels relieved, she's glad it wasn't anything more than just a fling. She's glad she can still win her heart. She just looks at Christen, appreciating her honesty and their friendship. She wants more with her, but she doesn't want to rush anything, she wants it to come naturally. She doesn't want to end up like that guy and have no meaning for Christen. 

Christen can sense a calmness within Tobin now, she doesn't look as tense as she was when they came to the Deli. 

"So," Christen says, "We have one week left together. Let's make it count." She gets up from the table and signals to Tobin that they should get going. 

Tobin doesn't know what this day has in hold, but she's ready for anything to happen. She smiles as Christen drags her out of the Deli and on to the crowded streets of NYC. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a feelingg that Carter will be back next chapter... but idk yet. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm really excited for Chapter 3, bc I really don't know where it's going to go. Again, I really appreciate it when you comment b/c I get ideas from everyone. Thank you again for reading and I hope you're having a great day


	3. Always there

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tobin will always be there for Christen no matter what, when will Christen realize that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyy i hope u enjoy this chapter. I think it's gonna b one where christen starts to realize a lot and same goes for tobin. Enjoy!!!

"So," Tobin says while walking with Christen down the streets of NYC, "What happened with that, uh, guy?"

Christen just looks up at her and smiles saying, "It was nothing. He just kind of had my back with some guys that were yelling and saying stuff to me. So he just took me outside and I guess I didn't know what I was thinking, so it just happened. But believe me it was nothing alright." 

"I understand Chris, just I don't want anything to happen to you alright." Tobin says sincerely.

Christen just smiles, grateful for her friendship with Tobin. "Are you ready to go back to Portland?"

Tobin thinks about this question. She really doesn't want to leave. Her 22 best friends are her, especially Christen. She's enjoyed all the time she's gotten to spend with her, although most of it was with the team, she loved every minute of it. She wished she could spend some more time with her exclusively, but she doesn't want to push anything. "Yeah, I mean, I'm going to miss everyone alot. Everyone is like my family and all the memories we've made have been irreplaceable, so it's gonna be a lot for Portland to fill in, but I'm sure we'll be back with the National Team soon enough. How about you Chris? Are you ready for Utah?"

"I feel the same, to be honest, this team is my life and I would honestly prefer to be with the National Team. Especially being with you Tobin. I love every minute I get with you" Christen doesn't know why she was being so upfront and honest, she normally never told people how she felt. She usually kept everything in and they had to find it out themselves. 

Tobin was in shock, she just asked a simple question and the sophistication of this answer blew her away. Well it wasn't really sophisticated, but Tobin had a sliver of a chance that maybe Christen felt the same about her as she did. Maybe they had a chance of being something. 

Right at this moment, Coach Jill Ellis sent them a text on the group chat

**Coach - Come to the main field that we had practiced on. Let's do one last scrimmage before you all leave.**

**Mal - Aw, come on, I was having fun not doing anything and now I get out of bed and do something.**

**Emily - STFU Mal, we all know you're scared of losing to me.**

**Coach - Let's settle this on the field.**

*

Coach Ellis separates the teams into two groups of 11, Alex Morgan can't play because of her injury. 

**Team 1 - Jess, Adriana, Julie, Abby, Kelley, Morgan, Alyssa, Allie, Megan, Ali and Crystal**

**Team 2 - Christen, Rose, Tobin, Tierna, Lindsey, Mal, Carli, Sam, Becky, Ashlyn and Emily**

First to 5 score

This was the most intense match the team had played in a longg time. 

The game started off with Team 1 scoring with Megan and Crystal working the left side of the field and crossing it to Julie who was waiting in the middle. 

However, the next 5 goals were scored by Team 2. Christen started off by passing to Rose, who shot from outside the 18. The next goal was scored by Lindsey off of a beautiful cross from Carli Lloyd. Tobin scored the next 2 goals, both assisted by Sam. The final goal, which was scored just as the sun began to set was scored by the one and only Christen Press, who was assisted by Emily. 

"AYYYY!!! We did it suckassss!" Emily seemed to be the one most excited by the outcome. 

"What's our prize Coach? Do we get to pick dinner?" Mal wants some sort of compensation for their work. 

While they're all busy talking, Christen and Tobin sneak out, wanting some sort of quiet.

"You played a hell of a game there Tobs!" Christen playfully punching Tobin's shoulder, "You deserved the MVP of that game for sure."

Tobin blushes, she loves when Christen compliments her, even for the smallest things. "You know, it's people like you who make me even want to try hard. If not I'd just be like eh, average, but no, because of people like you, I take it up a notch. 

"Oh stop," Christen says while laughing, "Wait, Tobin, are you saying that you only play good because you want to impress me? OMG that's cute. Is that why you sucked before I came on the national team?"

Tobin can feel her heart racing, she loves these moments with Christen. "Ok, well, I wasn't that bad Chris. Atleast I was good enough to make the National Team when I was a teenager. But, yes, I do like to impress people. It gives me some sort of motivation."

"Wowww, that was a low blow Tobin, I guess you were decent, but not as good as when you want to "impress" someone." 

"Oh come on," Tobin says looking a little dissapointed, "You gotta admit, I played really good back then. Especially for a teen."

"I mean, I guess" Christen doesn't want to admit that maybe the UNC grad was a good player, "How do you even know that you're impressing them?"

Tobin can't tell if Christen is flirting with her, or if she's just trying to ask a normal question, "I mean, I have a hunch. I hope I'm impressing them because if not, why am I even trying. I already have 2 World Cup championships. What more is there." Tobin knows what else there is. The real prize she wants is Christen. She would do anything to ensure that Christen is happy and being loved. She just needs the chance. 

"Well, Tobin, I can tell you that maybe you kind of do impress people, and it's not just in your soccer skills too. You're a great person Tobs!" Christen doesn't know why all of a sudden she's being so straight forward with Tobin. This isn't like her. She's used to other people telling her their feelings, not the opposite. 

Tobin can feel herself falling hard for Christen and fast. She wants to do something, but she doesn't know what to do. Tobin thinks to herself 'why does she have to be so perfect? Why do her eyes have to captivate me the way that they do' 

While she's thinking that, Rose knocks on the door and goes into the locker room where Tobin and Christen are at, "Coach asked me to call me to ask one of you guys to come outside she needs some help with something. Thanks."

Tobin takes one look at Christen's face and sees that she doesn't want to do anything right now. She's too tired because she hadn't slept well the night before. "I'll do it Rose, I'll go out right now." Tobin decides that she'll just go so Christen doesn't. 

"Thank you Tobin! I'm so tired. I don't want to do anything." Christen says while smiling. 

Tobin stands up, bringing Christen with her. She puts her arm behind her neck and pulls her in closer. 

"You know, he's not the only one who's got your back," Right after Tobin says that, she kisses Christen on the lips and before Christen could even process anything, she starts to walk out to help Coach. 

Christen was left there in the locker room, not knowing what to do. She'd just kissed Tobin Heath. It felt so good though, she wanted to kiss back, but she wasn't given the opportunity. Maybe that's what she was missing, maybe Tobin was what she's needed the entire time and she just never actually looked for it in her. She loved Tobin, but she didn't want to admit it. It's not what she did. She wasn't one to admit feelings for someone else. So, Tobin, just came in and practically showed her that she was there to compete. It was her against Carter now. 

Those words were stuck in her head as she was picking up her and Tobin's things from the locker room, 'You know, he's not the only one who's got your back'. They made her smile, she seemed so confident, yet Christen was just ugh she didn't even know what she was. She's just confused, why could 5 seconds leave such a lasting impact on her, like those 5 seconds had. She wants more with Tobin, she's decided that, finally, after 6 years. Maybe that's why she always got butterflies when they talked, or when Tobin would give her any kind of physical contact. She needs Tobin. 

Tobin felt the same way. She doesn't know what got into her. She can't believe she had just kissed Christen Press. The Christen Press. The Christen Press that she had been going after since 2013, when she joined the National Team. She loved those 5 seconds. She's loved everything with Christen, but this was something different. She doesn't know why she did that, she doesn't know if she'll ever do it again. But what she did realize was that she loves Christen. She needs Christen. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope u enjoyed this chapter a lottt! Please make sure to comment what you want or honestly anything. thank u! stay safe


	4. Have a Little Faith

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tobin and Christen go back to their respective clubs, yet somehow, they end up back together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hopeee you enjoy this chapter. This chapter is kinda gonna be a two-parter chapter, so chapter 5 will finish it off. I hope you're staying safe! And leave any feedback down in the comments. thank uu!!

***July 19th, 2019. Utah Royals vs Portland Thorns***

Even a week later, Christen couldn't stop thinking about what Tobin had done. They both seemed to ignore what had happened, acting the same way that they had before. She loved what Tobin did to her, she wished she could have more, but maybe now wasn't the time. She didn't want to ruin their friendship. 

Tobin couldn't stop thinking about it either. She kept wondering why she even took that step. Asking herself over and over again if they were even ready for that huge "jump". She was fine just brushing it off and acting as if it didn't happen. Although she wished that maybe Christen would've acknowledged it, she felt better and safer if they stayed friends. 

They got on the same flight to Utah with other Royal and Thorns players, such as, Kelley, Emily, Lindsey, Becky, and Adrianna. 

Tobin and Christen, of course sat with one another. 

"Are you ready for us to beat you guys up?" Tobin playfully punches Christen the second they sat down. 

"Oh, come on, you know Utah is better. Plus, you play bad when you play against me." Christen responds with her own playful shots.

"That is not true Chris, I play even better against you because remember, I like impressing people." Tobin trying to remind Christen her eyes are on her only. 

"Yeah, well, I take your mind off of the game. You just focus on me only." Christen continues the flirting.

"Yeah, but you like it when I focus on you." Tobin winks at her and Christen feels a part of her die inside. 

"I don't know, I doubt you'd be any good at staying focused.", she notices Tobin looking out the window, "See, you can't even focus on this conversation."

"C'mon Chris," Tobin tries defending herself, "I got to enjoy the view before we take off. Let me get into my game zone real quick, so I can beat you."

"I don't need to get into my game zone, I know we're going to beat you, don't need any preparation." Christen tries to keep Tobin's focus

"Alright Ms. Stanford, I'm all yours." Tobin smiles and puts her hand on Christen's.

For the rest of the flight, they just talked and talked, wishing that they could always have this alone time together. Christen couldn't stop thinking about how Tobin was so perfect and how she had confidence that she had never encountered in somebody before. Maybe, just maybe, could they end up being something. 

*

Once they landed, Tobin and Christen left the group to go explore Utah on their own. 

"This is where you play huh?" Tobin begins the conversation with the most obvious question. 

"Yeah," Christen says laughing, "Much better than Portland, that's for sure."

"Don't you live in Portland, Chris?"

"I mean, yeah, I do. But Utah is a better soccer city."

"Alright, Chris, come on, show me around" Tobin says while grabbing Christen's hand.

"I'll take you to my favorite restaurant, but then we have to go to practice ok?" Christen starts to lead her to her favorite place to eat.

"Aw come on, I wish I could stay with you forever." Tobin smiles at Christen.

Christen leads Tobin to her favorite restaurant, In n out. 

"OMG, you brought me to In N Out?" Tobin is so surprised that this would be her favorite restaurant. 

"Yesss, I love In N Out so much. Their fries are, ughh, they're heaven." Christen can't help but imagine finally having a good In N Out burger for the first time in forever.

They order their food and take it to go, going to the closest park to eat in more privacy. They spend an hour there eating and talking about anything that came to mind. Christen loves how she can talk about anything with Tobin and she won't judge. They can talk for hours and they would never run out of topics. When they finish eating, they head to Rio Tinto stadium to practice with their respective teams. 

*

During the game, Christen gets the start, but Tobin starts off on the bench. 

The game starts off really fast with Christine Sinclair scoring in the 9th minute. 

'Fuck' Christen thinks, I have to win, I told Tobin we would. 

Less than 30 minutes later, Christen scores a beautiful goal, tying the game at one a piece.

Tobin wants to jump up and celebrate because "her girl" has just scored, but she doesn't want everyone on the Portland bench to question her loyalty to the team. 

At the 75th minute, Christen sees Tobin take off her practice shirt and line up near the middle of the pitch. Tobin is about to come on. Christen can't help but blush as she sees Tobin look her way and wink. It's on, Christen thinks, now is when I play with my A-Game. The game is still 1-1 until the 87th minute when Becky scores an own goal. Christen is devastated, the chances that they salvage anything from the game is so low. 

Tobin walks up next to Christen and says, "See, I told you we were better." Christen just looks at Tobin, giving her a sort of "death stare". Christen immediately leads Utah to multiple, unstoppable attacks. This would lead to the game tying goal in the 90th minute. Christen was so happy. Portland thought they were going to go home with 3 points, but Utah had other plans. 

After the game, Tobin went up to Christen, "Alright, maybe we're even. But next time, we got you guys in the bag." 

Christen just side eyes her, "Sure, you guys got lucky. Let's go celebrate?"

"Yeah, anything with you dear. Great goal by the way." Tobin continues to coyly flirt with Christen. 

Christen can't believe that Tobin just called her dear. She doesn't have any good nicknames for Tobin, other than Tobs. God, Tobin was so confident. She was perfect in every single way. But they were just friends. She didn't want anything bad to happen to their friendship. 

After getting no response, Tobin decided to ask Christen a question she really hoped she would say yes in, "Uh, Chris? I have a game this week in Portland and I checked your schedule, you don't have a game until 3 days after."

Christen just hums a response, not knowing where this was going.

"Do you want to come to the game in Portland? Maybe I can impress you then." Tobin prays that she'll get a positive answer. 

Christen's green eyes light up, "Of course, I'd love to go support you!" 

Tobin's so happy. She didn't expect Christen to say yes, she thought Christen would want to stay in Utah practicing with her teammates, but instead she chose to go with her, Tobin Heath, to Portland. Maybe there is a chance that they could be more. 

*

Christen helps Tobin practice in Portland, getting her ready for their tough game against Houston. 

"C'mon Tobin, you gotta focus right now." Christen had realized that Tobin's passes hadn't been as crisp as usual. 

"I'm sorry, I'm just not used to having an angel practice with me." Tobin is too busy looking at Christen and how smooth her movements are. She's so perfect.

"Maybe, I should go, so you can focus." Christen finally realizing what's going on with Tobin.

"No, Chris, don't go. Please, I'll do better." Tobin begs that Christen won't leave her. She doesn't want her to go. She's never been happier with her being here.

"Mmmm, then you better prove it Tobin. Come on let's go 1 v 1." Christen just wants to beat Tobin. Why, she thinks, do we have to be so competitive?

"I'll go easy on you, love." Tobin winks at Christen.

Christen tries to use her speed to beat Tobin, but Tobin matches her by using her skill. They both play in completely different ways, yet together they work so well. After they each score a goal, they begin to get more aggressive with one another. Christen and Tobin both start pushing each other, trying to get the game winning goal, since they're playing 'best out of 3'. 

"Tobin, stop." Christen pleas while Tobin is grabbing her back, stopping her from getting the ball.

"Oh, come on Chris, you like it when I touch you." Tobin tries to distract Christen.

Christen pushes Tobin back, causing Tobin to fall and causing Christen to fall right on top of her. Christen's heart is pounding, she's on top of Tobin. 

Tobin can't believe her eyes, Christen is on top of her, her beautiful green eyes looking right into hers. She wants to pull her in closer, but they're right out in the open, in the middle of Providence Park. 

Christen finally comes back to Earth and gets herself up, helping Tobin up with her. For the rest of the afternoon, she can't get that out of her head. She felt so good like that, she doesn't know what it is, but she wants more. She can't take it as just friends, they have undeniable chemistry, and they're both letting it go to waste. She has to change that. 

*

Christen watches Portland play from the VIP section of the game. She watches as Portland beats Houston 5-0, in one of the most perfect games of soccer she's ever seen play. Tobin played differently this game, she played perfect, everything came off good for her. She ran onto the field to celebrate with Tobin.

"Tobin!! You played so well. It's obviously because I helped you practice." Christen is so in love with Tobin, but she doesn't know how to admit it. 

"Haha thank you Chris. It's all because of you, believe me. I told you I needed to impress someone." Tobin can't believe that after this game, they might not be together for another few weeks.

"Thank you for inviting me to Portland. I really enjoyed spending this time with you." Christen doesn't want to let Tobin go.

"Anytime, any moment with you, is a moment well spent. We're gonna go out to celebrate this win. Feel free to come join us if you want." Tobin hopes she'll come join her. She loves her team, but she loves Christen even more.

"I would Tobin, but I have to go pack my bags for the trip tomorrow. Thank you for the offer." Christen wants to go, but she's not really into celebrations, especially with what happened the last time. 

She can see the disappointment in Tobin's face, "Oh, it's o.k. Chris, thank you again for coming."

Christen doesn't want to leave her, but she does. She goes back to her hotel room and begins to pack her bags. Memories from the past week keep replaying in her mind. All these moments with Tobin were so perfect. She's never experienced a feeling like this before. Not with Carter, not with any other person she's been with before. Tobin just gave her something special. Maybe it was her confidence or her charm, or how perfect she looked all the time. She wanted something with Tobin. If she let this opportunity pass, she wouldn't have one for over 2 weeks, and maybe things would be different then. She had to take it now.

She decided to go to the bar where Tobin was celebrating. She hadn't told Tobin that she was coming, she wanted to surprise her. She hoped that Tobin wouldn't make her stay, she just wanted to go back to her hotel room, with Tobin. This was her one shot. 

She eventually found Tobin, sitting at a table with her coach, Christine, Emily, Lindsey, Adrianna, Megan and some other players. 

She walked over to Tobin. She noticed that everyone was shocked that Christen was here, but nobody was as shocked as Tobin. She tried so hard to contain her excitement when she saw Christen. 

"Hey, what's up?" Tobin looks a little concerned as to why Christen was here, but she'd take it.

"Hey, Tobin, so I finished packing my bags and I'm going to leave tomorrow morning, and I'm free for the night. I was wondering if, uh, you wanted to come over before I go. If not, I'll see you in a few weeks." Christen tried implying something more, hoping Tobin would understand. 

Tobin knew what she wanted and she wanted to go, but she was with her coach, and she didn't think her coach will let her go like that, "Yeah, I'd love to. But, I'm with my team right now and I can't really leave them. I'm sorry."

Christen was crushed, this was her only chance and she got rejected in a way, "See you in a few weeks then." 

Christen began to walk outside. Tobin was devastated, she wanted to go with Christen. She knew what she wanted and she was prepared to give her anything, but she couldn't just leave her team, they would know something was up. 

Emily noticed Tobin's face, "Tobin, just go, I'm sure coach would understand. She's here for you."

Tobin's face lit up, "Coach, may I? Please?"

Her coach sighed and agreed, "Yes, you may. Have fun." 

"Thank you, thank you very much." Tobin was so happy. She ran out to look for Christen, hoping she hadn't gotten very far. 

She finally spots Christen about to cross the street. She yells her name "Christen!!!" Christen stops and looks back seeing Tobin run towards her.

When Tobin gets close, she grabs Christen's hand, looking at her straight into her eyes and says "Let's go?" Implying way more than those 2 words may seem. 


End file.
